Benchmade pricing seems to have changed

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Bajjin3 said:
Wow, what a thread. This is ridiculous:rolleyes:. Benchmade's price is their prerogative. If I find another BM that I like, and I think the price is fair, I will buy it. That's the reason I haven't bought a sabenza, though I really want one. I do not want to pay $400+, but that is what they cost...It doesn't UPSET:grumpy: me and make me want to start a boycott. I agree that time will tell. The market/consumers will either accept or reject this "new" Benchmade and from there it will be their choice whether to sink or swim.
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Agreed, it's not worth getting worked up and upset about, if the value isn't there for you don't buy. Benchmade doesn't owe it to anybody to sell their knives at any given price point. If they've made a miscalculation as to market conditions, it'll become evident in a few months when their sales drop off.
 
So there will be fewer Benchmades for me for sure, if any. I have probably collected more than enough over the years, so what's the point of spending more now on these very few knives that I have not got yet but would not mind having! The knife industry landscape has changed a lot in the meantime: plenty of new brands I have never looked at before! So I do not see any reason to take it personally or talk about disrespect or anything: they are free to make their decisions, I am free to make mine!
 
N8N said:
Agreed, it's not worth getting worked up and upset about, if the value isn't there for you don't buy. Benchmade doesn't owe it to anybody to sell their knives at any given price point. If they've made a miscalculation as to market conditions, it'll become evident in a few months when their sales drop off.
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LOL, maybe you didn't get the memo. They say their prices haven't changed at all. Heck they haven't done anything ! ;)
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Our price levels HAVE NOT changed. Our dealer base and customers of all shapes and sizes are of the upmost importance to us and we will continue to pursue the best possible avenues to support them. Please know that we are listening and appreciate your feedback.

~Benchmade Knife Company
 
d0nut said:
How can so many people not be aware that a certain site still has a working 25% off code in effect?
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If anyone who is a member and they know the site can they PM me with it? :D

I ordered a couple Benchmades from knifeworks right before they pulled the code but have one more I want to buy before the holidays.
 
For conversation sake let's break this down to the facts. OP's statement will be Exhibit A > Benchmade pricing seems to have changed
OK,now comes Benchmade's official statement. Exhibit B > Our price levels HAVE NOT changed. Our dealer base and customers of all shapes and sizes are of the upmost importance to us and we will continue to pursue the best possible avenues to support them. Please know that we are listening and appreciate your feedback.

~Benchmade Knife Company

Now these are THE FACTS. This would lead me to conclude one of the following.
A. The OP and everyone posting here including myself are suffering from some sort of mass hallucinations?
B. The EVIL retailers have banded together in a conspiracy against their best customers and Benchmade is totally unaware of this situation ?
C. Benchmade is let's just say being less than honest, umk ?
Now is it > A,B,or C ?
 
Guys - this isn't rocket science. Benchmade distributes knives through a very broad range of retailers. These range from the very high volume online knife stores to smaller mom and pop brick and mortar stores. Both play an important roles for Benchmade. The online knife stores help Benchmade hit their bottom line - lots of units sold. They help support the scale of economy that justifies purchasing all those expensive robots and CNC machines they use to make those shiny bits in Oregon.

The smaller stores are equally critical to Benchmade. They help Benchmade market it's brand name and maintain a presence in stores that aren't exclusively knife dealers. The smaller, retail stores give Benchmade exposure to a much wider demographic. As for myself, I wasn't particularly into knives and I didn't know anything about Benchmade until recently. I just saw all the pretty blades and blue boxes in the display case at my local gun store enough times to prompt me to say one day, "Hey, I'd like to see some of these in the case over here".

As with pretty much any manufacturer, dealer wholesale pricing is going to be tiered according to the volume of knives sold. You can bet that the big online knife shops are getting much better pricing than the smaller mom and pop brick and mortars. How much of a margin gap? I'd bet it's easily 20 - 25% (hmm - kind of like the discounts we've seen).

Without MAP pricing, what happens? The handful of extremely high volume dealers have sufficient pricing margins that they can easily undercut the little guys. The little guys simply can't compete. If you're a small retailer, it becomes too expensive to keep a nice selection of costly merchandise sitting in a display case that's not selling. Or, how about when the potential buyer has the potential purchase in hand, then Googles a 25% discount on his smartphone. "Hey can you match the pricing with this place online?" For the smaller dealer, not a chance. They lose their margin. They effectively lose money. Ultimately, the smart business owner will stop carrying unprofitable merchandise.

That's the issue facing Benchmade. Without the smaller dealers they lose market presence and the brand suffers. They originally put in place MAP pricing to give the smaller dealers opportunity to make enough of a margin to make it worth carrying. However, they didn't enforce the pricing and it's devolved into a farce that's barely been a "wink and nod" on some of these web stores.

I love discounts, and yes, I hate losing 25% off pricing. However, I get it. I don't like it, but I understand.

I don't expect Benchmade to directly address this here in this forum. What would they gain? Will that somehow make anyone feel any better? I really don't think so. I mean, while they're at it, should they go ahead publish their wholesale dealer pricing structure as well? Would that make everyone feel a whole lot better? I don't think so.

For as much whining that's going on in this thread, I predict that ultimately, it's going to have almost zero impact on Benchmade's sales. Why? If there wasn't already a huge amount of loyalty and fan base for Benchmade out there, people wouldn't be raising such a stink. People are raising a stink because they are so passionate about their knives and the brand. We hope that all of our collective foot stomping, pouting, and holding our breath will make difference. It won't. At the end of the day, most of us are going to save a little extra and spend the coin on what we want to buy regardless. C'mon - this is a hobby. Did anyone get into this thinking this was good for their finances? ;)

Elisabeth
 
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ToolDiva said:
Guys - this isn't rocket science. Benchmade distributes knives through a very broad range of retailers. These range from the very high volume online knife stores to smaller mom and pop brick and mortar stores. Both play an important roles for Benchmade. The online knife stores help Benchmade hit their bottom line - lots of units sold. They help support the scale of economy that justifies purchasing all those expensive robots and CNC machines they use to make those shiny bits in Oregon.

The smaller stores are equally critical to Benchmade. They help Benchmade market it's brand name and maintain a presence in stores that aren't exclusively knife dealers. The smaller, retail stores give Benchmade exposure to a much wider demographic. As for myself, I wasn't particularly into knives and I didn't know anything about Benchmade until recently. I just saw all the pretty blades and blue boxes in the display case at my local gun store enough times to prompt me to say one day, "Hey, I'd like to see some of these in the case over here".

As with pretty much any manufacturer, dealer wholesale pricing is going to be tiered according to the volume of knives sold. You can bet that the big online knife shops are getting much better pricing than the smaller mom and pop brick and mortars. How much of a margin gap? I'd bet it's easily 20 - 25% (hmm - kind of like the discounts we've seen).

Without MAP pricing, what happens? The handful of extremely high volume dealers have sufficient pricing margins that they can easily undercut the little guys. The little guys simply can't compete. If you're a small retailer, it becomes too expensive to keep a nice selection of costly merchandise sitting in a display case that's not selling. Or, how about when the potential buyer has the potential purchase in hand, then Googles a 25% discount on his smartphone. "Hey can you match the pricing with this place online?" For the smaller dealer, not a chance. They lose their margin. They effectively lose money. Ultimately, the smart business owner will stop carrying unprofitable merchandise.

That's the issue facing Benchmade. Without the smaller dealers they lose market presence and the brand suffers. They originally put in place MAP pricing to give the smaller dealers opportunity to make enough of a margin to make it worth carrying. However, they didn't enforce the pricing and it's devolved into a farce that's barely been a "wink and nod" on some of these web stores.

I love discounts, and yes, I hate losing 25% off pricing. However, I get it. I don't like it, but I understand.

I don't expect Benchmade to directly address this here in this forum. What would they gain? Will that somehow make anyone feel any better? I really don't think so. I mean, while they're at it, should they go ahead publish their wholesale dealer pricing structure as well? Would that make everyone feel a whole lot better? I don't think so.

For as much whining that's going on in this thread, I predict that ultimately, it's going to have almost zero impact on Benchmade's sales. Why? If there wasn't already a huge amount of loyalty and fan base for Benchmade out there, people wouldn't be raising such a stink. People are raising a stink because they are so passionate about their knives and the brand. We hope that all of our collective foot stomping, pouting, and holding our breath will make difference. It won't. At the end of the day, most of us are going to save a little extra and spend the coin on what we want to buy regardless. C'mon - this is a hobby. Did anyone get into this thinking this was good for their finances? ;)

Elisabeth
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I'm glad a Benchmade employee finally got on here to make a response (you're doing a much better job than the mod btw). Market presence makes sense and I understand the need to cultivate a larger group of consumers, but why implement this now when "mom and pop" shops are on the decline? This model would have made more sense years ago. Oh well...
 
austonh said:
I'm glad a Benchmade employee finally got on here to make a response (you're doing a much better job than the mod btw). Market presence makes sense and I understand the need to cultivate a larger group of consumers, but why implement this now when "mom and pop" shops are on the decline? This model would have made more sense years ago. Oh well...
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Also there's this new thing called the internet that allows the "Mom and Pop" Shops to sell online too. :confused:
 
Thanks Elisabeth, well said. Collecting these things was and is never good for my finances. But as you've said clearly would anything Benchmade could say make a difference for us? I can read between the lines and can say, only for myself, I will survive this change. I would be happy just to know that the service provided to us in exchange for what we pay for the knives will remain constant and excellent. The knives in my collection say "Thanks!" :)
 
ToolDiva said:
Guys - this isn't rocket science.

For as much whining that's going on in this thread, I predict that ultimately, it's going to have almost zero impact on Benchmade's sales. Why? If there wasn't already a huge amount of loyalty and fan base for Benchmade out there, people wouldn't be raising such a stink. People are raising a stink because they are so passionate about their knives and the brand. We hope that all of our collective foot stomping, pouting, and holding our breath will make difference. It won't. At the end of the day, most of us are going to save a little extra and spend the coin on what we want to buy regardless. C'mon - this is a hobby. Did anyone get into this thinking this was good for their finances? ;)

Elisabeth
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Dear Elizabeth, I believe your prediction is wrong. :eek: Please tell your employer, good luck and Happy New Year. :)

Tom
 
Benchmade employee posting from an anonymous account?

Nooo, I'm tootally a normal knife enthusiast who happens to never post and is totally supportive of Benchmade's foolhardy strategy.
 
ToolDiva said:
Guys - this isn't rocket science. Benchmade distributes knives through a very broad range of retailers. These range from the very high volume online knife stores to smaller mom and pop brick and mortar stores. Both play an important roles for Benchmade. The online knife stores help Benchmade hit their bottom line - lots of units sold. They help support the scale of economy that justifies purchasing all those expensive robots and CNC machines they use to make those shiny bits in Oregon.

The smaller stores are equally critical to Benchmade. They help Benchmade market it's brand name and maintain a presence in stores that aren't exclusively knife dealers. The smaller, retail stores give Benchmade exposure to a much wider demographic. As for myself, I wasn't particularly into knives and I didn't know anything about Benchmade until recently. I just saw all the pretty blades and blue boxes in the display case at my local gun store enough times to prompt me to say one day, "Hey, I'd like to see some of these in the case over here".

As with pretty much any manufacturer, dealer wholesale pricing is going to be tiered according to the volume of knives sold. You can bet that the big online knife shops are getting much better pricing than the smaller mom and pop brick and mortars. How much of a margin gap? I'd bet it's easily 20 - 25% (hmm - kind of like the discounts we've seen).

Without MAP pricing, what happens? The handful of extremely high volume dealers have sufficient pricing margins that they can easily undercut the little guys. The little guys simply can't compete. If you're a small retailer, it becomes too expensive to keep a nice selection of costly merchandise sitting in a display case that's not selling. Or, how about when the potential buyer has the potential purchase in hand, then Googles a 25% discount on his smartphone. "Hey can you match the pricing with this place online?" For the smaller dealer, not a chance. They lose their margin. They effectively lose money. Ultimately, the smart business owner will stop carrying unprofitable merchandise.

That's the issue facing Benchmade. Without the smaller dealers they lose market presence and the brand suffers. They originally put in place MAP pricing to give the smaller dealers opportunity to make enough of a margin to make it worth carrying. However, they didn't enforce the pricing and it's devolved into a farce that's barely been a "wink and nod" on some of these web stores.

I love discounts, and yes, I hate losing 25% off pricing. However, I get it. I don't like it, but I understand.

I don't expect Benchmade to directly address this here in this forum. What would they gain? Will that somehow make anyone feel any better? I really don't think so. I mean, while they're at it, should they go ahead publish their wholesale dealer pricing structure as well? Would that make everyone feel a whole lot better? I don't think so.

For as much whining that's going on in this thread, I predict that ultimately, it's going to have almost zero impact on Benchmade's sales. Why? If there wasn't already a huge amount of loyalty and fan base for Benchmade out there, people wouldn't be raising such a stink. People are raising a stink because they are so passionate about their knives and the brand. We hope that all of our collective foot stomping, pouting, and holding our breath will make difference. It won't. At the end of the day, most of us are going to save a little extra and spend the coin on what we want to buy regardless. C'mon - this is a hobby. Did anyone get into this thinking this was good for their finances? ;)

Elisabeth
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I think you will be proven wrong. I am surprised you think a majority of sales come from die hard loyalists. I would assume most come from KNIFE enthusiasts who think a particular knife (that just happens to be a benchmade) is a cool design at a good value. With a 25% price increase, I predict a majority of those knives will not be considered a good value to the majority of buyers. I say this because I am in that demographic.
 
Wow - I feel like I stepped into the middle of a raging storm.

To all who think that I'm a Benchmade employee, I'll take that as a compliment. And BTW, if Benchmade is listening, please PM me so I can tell you where to send my paycheck. That would be awesome . . .:p

Yes, I'm new here (hence the low number of posts). I've had a total of two Benchmade knives. I originally purchased the 300SN flipper, but I didn't like the size of it for daily carry so I ended up getting the mini Barrage which I totally love (which as it happens, I purchased from a certain website with a 25% discount).

I haven't been into knives very long, but I have always enjoyed things that are well made. To me, things that are well crafted are an expression of art.

When I get into things, I tend to be enthusiastic. I don't pretend to be an expert. And I always enjoy the enthusiasm others bring to a hobby in forums like this.

This topic interested me because, well, let's face it - it's 25 pages long. I mean, with all the conjecture, speculation and a dash of conspiracy theory, it's kind of an interesting read. So - I decided to throw in my $0.02.

My opinion comes with no knowledge of knives or this industry. It comes from being a small business owner and knowing how tiered pricing structures work. Given that it's the holiday season, if I was a smaller retailer, I'd be worried about getting stuck with a ton of inventory that I can't move because my pricing can't get near the deep discounting offered by the big players. It's not about being a fan girl, defending Benchmade or acting an anonymous shadowy hand representing the spirit that wants to steal joy from the holidays. It's just putting together a logical explanation, that in my mind, makes sense.

Elisabeth
 
Hi Elisabeth,

sounds like you and I are really at about the same point in our knife enthusiasm, I may just be a couple months ahead of you.

For years I EDC'd a knife. There was stuff I liked about it, stuff I didn't, but it was my knife, and I didn't think much of it. Best I can tell, it was a CRKT Mt. Ranier but had a plain blade, not serrated as are all the ones I see. Then one day I lost it. So I had to buy a new knife. As with many purchases (and here is what makes me say that I feel like I understand where you're coming from) if I'm going to spend real money on something that I'm going to have in my pocket every day for years, I want to make sure that what I'm buying is high quality and fits my needs. (I'm also a little bit obsessive-compulsive, so the fact that I started hanging out on BF is not completely weird...)

I've spent waaaaay too much time reading BF in the past month or so, and have purchased a few knives, none really expensive by the standards of true enthusiasts, but very expensive for my budget. One of those was a Griptilian, which I like very much.

Would I buy the same knife today, at the price that my local gun shop sells it? Maybe, maybe not. Part of the reason that I *have* spent so much time on BF and have driven around to a few gun shops and outdoor stores to handle the merchandise in person is that buying a knife that costs more than $20-30 or so feels like an investment, and when one has many interests and needs competing for a limited budget, it only makes sense to do one's research to make sure that one is getting good value for the money, or worst case scenario, if after carrying for a few weeks or months I decide that my purchase wasn't the right one, I can resell it and get some of my money back out of it to put towards something else.

As it was, the Grip was the second most expensive knife that I picked up... I have a feeling that I would have liked a 940 better, but there was no way I felt comfortable laying out that much money on a knife even though I was looking for a high quality product. Unfortunately, as to-the-consumer prices go up, I suspect the same thing may happen to BM's lower priced knives as well. Seems to me that higher prices limits BM's market to those for whom knives are one of the purchaser's primary interests, or else those with so much disposable income that the purchase price is more or less irrelevant. My gut feeling is that this may hurt sales; however, I could be wrong and non-enthusiasts are a small portion of BM's customer base already so the higher prices will actually help BM's brick and mortar dealers. Who's right? We'll just have to wait and see.

One thing I think we can all agree on though is that BM's response in this forum is pretty much a non response.
 
I think anything productive that will be contributed has been. I'm just gonna wait and see what happens.
 
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